Photo Art Recommendations for Winter 2018

For three years, Christine Schellenberger was a member of the curatorial team at LUMAS. Now she heads the LUMAS Corporate Art Service, developing individually tailored art concepts for our business customers. That entails a lot more than simple decorating. She places a tremendous amount of importance on using art to create a unique atmosphere. Her personal favourites also effectively inspire a wide variety of moods.

Mauren Brodbeckbreaks up everyday architectural photographs with stark shapes to create something entirely new.
The monochrome surfaces appear almost sculptural in the gray cityscapes, an exciting contrast that never fails to delight – and I see it every day on my wall at home!

Jens Hausmann combines the clear, open structures of modern architecture with intricate painting in peaceful pastel hues for a timelessly
elegant aesthetic I really appreciate. I have a special affinity for his pictures of South American buildings because they bring back a lot of memories from my travels there.

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In his large-format collages, André Monet depicts the pop icons of the times in an extraordinary way. He reinterprets photographs of stars
like Cate Blanchett, David Bowie, and Rihanna, and gives them a dramatic expressiveness. The scraps of print and maps Monet uses are always directly related to the subject in some way.
The impressively implemented colour accents add to his work’s unique intensity!

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Curator Antonio de Campos has a background in various creative disciplines, including fine art, filmmaking, and architecture. One of the highlights of his career so far was being a permanent artistic consultant to the late Starchitect, Artist and Designer Zaha Hadid. This collaboration lasted over 25 years until Hadid’s passing in March of 2016. In his words: “My selection of artists was based how they express their creative visions through their craft.”

Salar Ahmadian has sold his work in prestigious galleries across the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S., including the world-famous Christie’s Auction House. His oeuvre is dynamic, moving fluidly between tradition and modernity. Inspired by Persian calligraphy, Ahmadian presents a new visual language combining elements of Pop Art symbolism and the creative process of Surrealism, in a manner reminiscent of the techniques of Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.

Antonio Rojas believes art evokes the mystery of the unconscious. He is at home in the realm of magical realism, exploring new perspectives through his collage work. In his Shadow Line series, the real world is transformed by geometric elements, creating an abstract juxtaposition. Following in the footsteps of his artistic role model, Rene Magritte, Rojas reminds us that what we see is a fantasy and not a depiction of reality.

The duo Geebird & Bamby creates a seemingly familiar reality that is actually a stylized illusion. They call this series The New World. These imaginary buildings are digitally constructed from parts of real supermarkets, movie theaters, liquor stores, and roadside diners photographed in California, Nevada, and Florida. They reinvent these structures in collages inspired by architecture from the post-war era and late 20th century.

Heinrich Heidersberger is one of the most famous German photographers of his time. Despite working in commercial photography, he always felt influenced by the Surrealists. At one point in his career, he decided to investigate abstract photography through chemical experiments and light. As a result of these experiments, he created this legendary series Kleid Aus Licht (Dress of Light). Made with more heart than technique, the artist dresses his muses in light and shadow. He creates the illusion of a second skin that establishes a new relationship between figurative and abstract.

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For nearly a decade, Christoph Bamberg has shaped the LUMAS portfolio through his work as a curator. He has specialized in photography dating back to his studies in Art History. At LUMAS, he especially appreciates the new and fresh concept that allows curators, including himself, to discover new artists and offer them a public platform for their work. Bamberg has accompanied some of his favorite artists for years, and he especially loves it when rising talents make a lasting name for themselves.

Beauty and perfect forms can be found in everyday life – you just have to go through the world with open eyes. Tim Hölscher’s study of gas stations of the 1950s and 1960s instantly aroused my enthusiasm for the architecture of these functional buildings. He isolates them in post, placing the focus purely on the structures, which I find both aesthetically and conceptually fascinating.

Bettina Flitners “Boatpeople” is also a very sophisticated concept, however her pieces are largely narrative and therefore very extraordinary. I like art that surprises me. Flitner’s pictures generate more questions than they provide answers. It is worth taking a closer look, and discovering all of the minute details in the composition. The water becomes a stage for these humorously odd scenes. To float a Burmese boat down the Rhine River – first you have to come up with that!

The dreamy seascape “Secret Garden” by Sven Fennemas is perfect for LUMAS! Gallery visitors and I have been blown away by the harmonious interplay between the lush greens, classic composition, and the landscape. Fennema combines architectural photography with breathtaking scenery, blazing new trails in the Urban Exploration genre.

It is always worth revisiting the classics from time to time – there are still plenty of exciting discoveries for me in this area! I am especially pleased that Hungarian artist Martin Munkácsi, one of the earliest representatives of the New Vision movement, is part of the LUMAS portfolio. With his intuitive sense for unique moments, he inspired world-renowned masters like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Richard Avedon. To me, the picture “Sonnenbaden” (sunbathing) embodies longing, melancholy, and vitality all at the same time.

Found your favorite pieces, but you’re not exactly sure how to display them?

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Heike Dander began her curatorial career as the Director of the International Studio Programme at Berlin’s Künstlerhaus Bethanien. After that came various international exhibition projects. For over 10 years, she has been the Executive Curator in charge of the LUMAS portfolio.

Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski – a dangerous combination! Creative and unmistakeable, as seen here in Fitzcarraldo. This is a very special edition of select images straight from the film’s negatives.

Artist Miki Takahashi's ’s work is full of emotional depth and a great aesthetic sensitivity. The city projected onto the faces becomes a conduit for thoughts, feelings, and associations. It is a city that characterizes and inspires its inhabitants.

In Christopher Woodcock’s Publicly Private series, the works are so impressively composed, they feel like sophisticated photomontages. The clever use of a large-format camera creates blur in the foreground and background.

By comparison, the buildings Geebird & Bamby depict seem to have come from a parallel world. The list of artistic influences is long: Alfred Hitchcock, Wim Wenders, Stephen Shore, et al. Their concept is an exciting game of suggestion, recognition, and idealisation.

The pieces by Eduard Erlikh and Edward B. Gordon take us into the realm of expression and exciting artistic technique. Here, light is a moment of inspiration. Portraits in their purest form!

You may return a limited edition in a LUMAS gallery or arrange to have us pick it up at no cost by calling+49 30 30 30 69 69 (Mon-Fri 9am-7pm).

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